


Mystery Guest

by cuddlingqueen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 22:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3546278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddlingqueen/pseuds/cuddlingqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity is working late at Queen Consolidated… ahem… Palmer Industries, when she hears something happening outside her office. I’m not saying this is a Die Hard AU, but… it’s a Die Hard AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mystery Guest

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is much more Felicity-centric with only a little Oliver. I promise it will pick up after this! Besides, who doesn’t love Felicity? All I can ask is that you guys trust me. This takes place somewhere in the first half of Season 3.

Felicity found herself alone on Friday night in her Palmer Industries office. She didn’t mind the quiet; in fact, she was used to it.

Having two jobs sometimes made it difficult for her to stay on top of things. Of course she gave preference to her nighttime activities: saving people came first. She could always do paperwork or fix a microchip later. If there was anyone who could handle being vice president of a multi-billion dollar company and being a core member of a crime-fighting team, it was Felicity Smoak.

But by the end of the week when most of her deadlines came, she almost regretted saving people. Not that she ever would, it was an important job and she loved doing it. But it was pretty darn close. The stack of papers on her desk was higher than her head.

_…If there was a stack._ Of course, everything was computerized, she just liked metaphors.

When she had left the lair that night, Oliver offered to escort her to the tower, like he did every Friday night. She thanked him and declined, like she had every week. It was common foreplay amongst them now. It was a sweet gesture, and she really did appreciate it. She could take care of herself, and she didn’t want to impose. Some nights he looked more tired than she did. She could handle a short drive on her own.

Her lobby check-in was as uneventful as usual. If anyone worked after hours, they always had to check in. It was one of the new security measures she had signed off on; after the change in ownership, there had been some concerns. She didn’t think it would be that much of a problem, but now that she was working late so often, it was starting to get on her nerves. She cursed herself silently.

She checked in with Al, one of the nighttime security guards. This had become a routine too. She enjoyed their usual banter; it helped her lighten up before she got weighed down in a project. It was the calm before the storm. He always made a remark about how this was the best retirement job in the world.

“Working late, Ms. Smoak?”

“Always, Al.”

The elevator ride went smoothly, and she let out a long sigh when she sat down at her desk. She didn’t know she was holding one in. She was exhausted. She decided a nice cup of coffee would help her stay awake. She returned to her desk with a shiny new mug in hand. She wrapped her hands around both sides of it, letting the heat warm her hands up. She looked around at her empty surroundings.

Being alone wasn’t so bad. Her life had been so crazy lately, this was actually the only alone time she had. She was grateful for it. The location didn’t bother her as much as she first thought. Sure, it was work, but it was comfortable. This late at night, she didn’t have to worry about bumping into people, keeping appointments, arguing with investors…

Or about the dress code. She slipped off her heels and put on some music to help pass the time. _We’re only getting older baby, and I’ve been thinking about you lately. Does it ever drive you crazy, just how fast the night changes?_

Yes, she liked one direction. Well, at least this new song. She wasn’t ready to admit her addiction yet.

She was humming away, looking at the specs for their latest project in her bare feet, when she felt a rumble beneath her.

_An earthquake?_ Those weren’t uncommon in Seattle, but this one felt different.

She took out her earbuds and listened to her surroundings. She could hear distant voices, and they were getting closer. It was definitely more than one person. _Who was here this late?_ The only ones who were allowed access to this part of the building this late were her, Ray, and the security guards. The guards already did their patrol for the night…

Then she heard a single gunshot. She crouched down immediately, and looked out at the hallway just in time to see a guard hit the ground with a bullet in his head. She could only see a glimpse of the man who dragged the guard down the hallway out of sight, but she could see the artillery on his vest.

That was no earthquake. It was a grenade.

They had breached through on a lower level, that’s why she only felt a rumble. Her brain began to form the scene that was unfolding before her. They clearly weren’t here for kicks, they must be after something valuable. Something like the plans to the new power core she was making for Ray’s suit.

_They were coming for her._

A jolt of fear ripped through her body. She didn’t have time to figure out a plan now; she had to hide, and fast. With two strokes of her hand, her computer was locked. And for good measure, she pulled out all the wires connecting it to the mainframe. At the very least, it would slow them down.

She ran out of her office as fast as she could, not daring to look back. She hit the elevator button, hoping, praying even, that it would still work.

The doors opened.

_Thank god._ She got in the elevator and pressed the close button. _Which floor?_ Surely some of the floors below her were in shambles. She wouldn’t make it to the ground floor. She decided the fourth floor would be good enough. It was low enough that she could walk down the remaining flights but high enough that she could still access some of the crucial systems from the computers on that floor. Maybe she could block the intruders before calling for help. It was worth a shot.

The elevator started its descent. She felt much more confident with a plan in place and let out a heavy sigh. She only had one more problem to deal with: she looked down at her blue painted toes and realized she was still barefoot.

Now she was really hoping nothing went wrong. Her feet were definitely going to feel it tomorrow.

She had been on the 18th floor and was now on the 12th. _Come on, come on._ This was the longest elevator ride she had ever been on. Then it stopped. “No no no, come on,” she found herself whispering it out loud. The lights went out and the emergency ones came on.

“Great. Just great.”

Well, at least she could say she had been in this situation before. She recalled her experience with Unidac. Her very _platonic_ circumstances at Unidac.

She took a deep breath. She had to calm herself down. Nothing was going to be solved by panicking. _Oliver wouldn’t panic._

_New plan: get out of the elevator, find the nearest phone and call the team. This wasn’t the time to be her own hero._

She tried to force open the doors to no avail. She needed leverage. The elevator didn’t give her many supplies to work with. She had a control box and handlebars. The bars would have to do. After some time, she was able to tear off one of the handlebars on the side of the elevator. Part of the wallpaper came with it. She thought about how she would explain that expense on the budget sheet, but quickly shoved the thought out of her mind. She jammed the bar between the doors as best she could. She managed to open it an inch before seeing that she was in fact, between floors. Even if she did open it, she couldn’t possibly lift herself up to the floor above her.

The only other way out was out the top. Using the other handlebar to step on, she reached the ceiling of the elevator and found the release lever. The hatch opened up immediately. She pulled herself up, with quite a struggle. Suddenly she regretted that her daily workout videos did not include pull-ups.

Her bare feet touched the cold metal top of the elevator. Even some socks would be nice…

She laughed at the absurd thought. Here she was, trapped in an elevator with god knows who breaking into _her_ (let’s face it) company and she was fantasizing about socks. She certainly was living the dream.

She snapped back into focus. She knew well enough not to look down the elevator shaft. Oliver had taught her that. She wisely brought up the handlebar with her so that she could use it to open the doors from this side. She positioned her feet a few lengths apart, knowing that it would help brace herself against the door. Sara had taught her that. She summoned as much strength as she could, and the doors flew open. She breathed a sigh of relief.

She set down the handlebar next to her so she could steady herself against the sides of the doors while getting out. A few seconds later, she discovered the handlebar was rolling away. She extended a hand, but she didn’t reach it in time. It fell off the elevator car, clanking the sides of the shaft on the way down. It was a long way down. She recoiled from the edge of the car, knowing now just how far up she was. She really didn’t like heights.

She couldn’t do this.

She froze in place as the fear consumed her. She was able to keep it at bay before, but she could only do that for so long.

_What did she know?_

The thought had been waiting to come out as soon as she got in the elevator. She was kidding herself if she knew anything at all about what she was doing. This wasn’t her territory. What did she know about chasing after bad guys and climbing through elevator shafts and doing death defying stunts?

_She wasn’t Oliver._


End file.
